By Randall L. Broad
Read: 1 Samuel 20-21:15; John 9:1-41; Psalm 113-114:8; Proverbs 15:15-17
In today’s reading of the One Year Bible we encounter a relatively lengthy narrative about a miraculous event performed by Jesus which is beyond the understanding of the witnesses.
Today pastors, theologians, and translators accuse the witnesses of spiritual blindness which prevents them believing what they see. Generally, there could be many causes for spiritual blindness; sin issues, a broken heart, a lack of learning, and many more. But if we look deeper we discover a cause for their blindness which is often overlooked in the sermons and commentaries written about this passage. In this narrative the witnesses and in particular the Pharisees are blind to the truth because they are spiritually stubborn; they refuse to believe.
The story begins:
1As
he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2His disciples asked
him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3“Neither
this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the
works of God might be displayed in him. 4As long as it is day; we must
do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5While
I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”6After saying this,
he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s
eyes. 7“Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word
means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
John 9:1-7
The very first sentence is worthy of note … as he went along, he saw a man blind from birth (v. 1). The narrative tells us Jesus left the Temple at the end of chapter eight–before he encounters the blind man so most likely this story takes place in one of the local synagogues and the Pharisees who do the investigation are not ‘officials’ of the Temple in Jerusalem. However they act with the same authority as the Scribes, Sadducees’, and the Sanhedrin. In addition, nothing in the narrative suggests or indicates the blind man sought healing or was looking for Jesus prior to this encounter. Yet Jesus healed the blind man and set into motion events that changed the man’s life forever.
The language “he saw” is significant because it is Jesus who saw and knew the blind man first. The blind man will not 'see' the one who heals him until verse thirty-five of this chapter–after he has witnessed to his neighbors; testified twice before the Pharisees in the synagogue; and been excommunicated from the Temple. In the age of postmodern science and technology it is still impossible to cure someone born blind; the only successful examples are a few cases where the blindness was caused by cataracts at birth and when they were removed the person received some or all of their sight back. Yet even these cases are extremely rare and are seen as miracles of modern medicine.
This idea of Jesus seeing us first is an argument for prevenient grace–sometimes called enabling grace or preceding grace–it is grace rooted in Arminian theology which argues God moves in our lives and leads us to Christ long before we make a conscious decision to allow him into our hearts. Examples of this enabling grace are found in the calling of every believer from the disciples to now. Many of us can look back on our own lives and see the protective hand of God that guided us, protected us from ourselves, and led us to the place where we discovered Jesus. That moment of salvation is always when we discover grace but long before that–grace knew us.
A common topic of sermons is the question the disciples ask of Jesus–Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind (v. 2). It was a common view in Jesus’ time suffering was punishment for sin; it’s an idea still found today in religions based on legalism and ritual. But notice in this narrative Jesus is quick to rebuke that view, emphasizing instead this man’s blindness is not a punishment for his or his parent’s sin. Rather suffering and struggle can serve a heavenly purpose and … this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him (v. 3). By showing grace to the blind man God’s glory was on public display.
By extension our struggles today happen so His grace might be seen in us and this is the reality of all New Testament believers. Perhaps the best example in the New Testament is Saul of Tarsus, a Pharisee who persecuted the early Church and yet received God’s grace despite his sins. Paul understood that if Jesus could forgive his sins, he could forgive anyone and revealed to him ... a Pharisee the truth of justification by faith. Later in his ministry Jesus would remind Paul exactly what that meant:
…
Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in
my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8Three times I
pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9But he said to me,
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that
Christ’s power may rest on me. 10That is why, for Christ’s sake, I
delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in
difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 Corinthians 12:7-10
Ironically, Paul has his sight taken from him on the road to Damascus and will experience for a ‘moment’ what the man in our narrative today experienced for years. Paul will have his sight restored by Ananias through the grace of Jesus Christ and go on to fulfill his ministry with the understanding grace is God’s glory which is revealed in the work he does in us and through us. We cannot be sure what happened to the blind man after this story but we can be sure he was never the same after his encounter with Jesus.
The narrative today goes on to tell us.
8His
neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the
same man who used to sit and beg?” 9Some claimed that he was. Others
said, “No, he only looks like him.” But he himself insisted, “I am the man.” 10“How
then were your eyes opened?” they asked. 11He replied, “The man they
call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and
wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.” 12“Where is this
man?” they asked him. “I don’t know,” he said.
John 9:8-12
In this part of the narrative the man tries to explain to his neighbors why he can suddenly see. There is understandable confusion and uncertainty in those who recognize him (v. 8) and they settle on different possibilities. Some are willing to accept he is the blind man whom they have known all their lives, but they have no explanation for his healing (v. 9). Some of them believe his blindness was an elaborate deception to deceive them all these years and so they demand an explanation (v. 10). Others refuse to believe he is the same man; because those blind from birth cannot be healed (v. 9). Yet the man makes it clear “I am the man” in the last sentence of verse nine.
He explains
as best he understands, “the man they call Jesus put mud in my eyes, I washed
it out, and now I can see.” In his explanation we can presuppose the blind man did
not know ‘the man named Jesus’. His explanation and particularly the pronoun they reflects the idea the blind man might
have heard of Jesus but would have known very little about him (v. 11). Yet, Jesus knows him, knows he
has been blind since birth, and heals him. Even in older times when people had
more spiritual and less scientific minds they simply could not understand how a
man born blind at birth could be healed by a “wandering Rabbi” and so they take
him to the Pharisees.
13They
brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. 14Now the day
on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath. 15Therefore
the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. “He put mud on my
eyes,” the man replied, “and I washed, and now I see.”
16Some
of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the
Sabbath.” But others asked, “How can a sinner perform such signs?” So they were
divided.
17Then
they turned again to the blind man, “What have you to say about him? It was
your eyes he opened.” The man replied, “He is a prophet.”
John 9:13-17
In this part of the narrative the man testifies for the first time before the Pharisees but this is not the first time in John’s gospel the Jewish leaders have heard or confronted Jesus about healing someone on the Sabbath. Earlier in John’s gospel Jesus healed the lame man on the Sabbath at the pool of Bethesda (vv. 5:1-12) but ironically in that narrative the man did not know who healed him (v. 5:13) until Jesus finds him later and reveals himself. The man at the pool reports this to the Jewish authorities (vv. 5:14-15) which leads to a confrontation between Jesus and the Jewish leaders (John 5: 16-30). Then in chapter seven there is a confrontation between Jesus and the Jews at the temple courts during the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles.
21Jesus
said to them, “I did one miracle, and you are all amazed. 22Yet,
because Moses gave you circumcision (though actually it did not come from
Moses, but from the patriarchs), you circumcise a boy on the Sabbath. 23Now
if a boy can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the Law of Moses may not be
broken, why are you angry with me for healing a man’s whole body on the
Sabbath? 24Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge
correctly.”
John 7:21-23
Healing on the Sabbath is a recurring charge against Jesus in all four gospels (c.f. Matthew 12:9-13; Mark 3:1-6; Luke 6:1-6, 10-17). In the healing today, the Pharisees find themselves divided by a rule of law and an unbelievable miracle. The result is a miracle that could only be from God is held to be less significant than the Law. Unable to confront Jesus, the Pharisees question the blind man. It is interesting to note when asked who Jesus was the blind man calls him a prophet; this is not an insignificant point because Jewish history records miraculous healing events performed by Elisha (2 Kings 4:18-37; 2 Kings 5:1-19; 2 Kings 13:21), Isaiah (2 Kings 20:7), and an unnamed prophet (1 Kings 13:4-6). The Pharisees would have been familiar with these events and would have seen them as miracles performed by Yahweh through His prophets.
Yet they refused to acknowledge Jesus as an equal of these Prophets so they stubbornly deny the miracle in His mercy.
18They
still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until
they sent for the man’s parents. 19“Is this your son?” they asked.
“Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?”
20“We
know he is our son,” the parents answered, “and we know he was born blind. 21But
how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don’t know. Ask him. He is of
age; he will speak for himself.” 22His parents said this because
they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who already had decided that anyone who
acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. 23That
was why his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”
John 9:18-23
The man’s parents are called to testify and are willing to confirm the man as their son and he was born blind (v. 20), but out of fear they cannot explain how he was healed (v. 21). The text tells us they feared because anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue (v. 22). This is a very real fear for believers in many legalistic denominations even today. In more orthodox churches being banned from communion is a common form of punishment; a person whose behavior is in conflict with the Church is banned from the Lord’s Supper until proper penance can be made. This is significant because at the time of this story the life of every Jew outside of Jerusalem was tied to the synagogue and to be excommunicated was to be banished from the entire community; including the loss of family and business relationships as well.
Afraid of the possibilities the parents of the blind man tell the Pharisees he is old enough to speak for himself.
24A
second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God by
telling the truth,” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.” 25He
replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I
was blind but now I see!”
26Then
they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”
27He
answered, “I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to
hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?”
John 9:24-27
The Blind Man grows impatient and the Pharisees return to the idea of blindness as a punishment for sin. But Jesus has opened more than the eyes of the Blind Man. He has given him new life and a new understanding. The Blind Man understands Jesus is from God, that God does not listen to sinners, and God listens to the godly person who does his will (v. 31). The Pharisees are insulted by these revelations because God has not shown Himself to them for four centuries. God sent no prophets to speak his word and as a result the Jewish leaders allowed the Law to become more important than Yahweh. Over the generations spiritual stubbornness hardened their hearts until they could no longer accept what they had seen with their very own eyes.
28Then
they hurled insults at him and said, “You are this fellow’s disciple! We are
disciples of Moses! 29We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for
this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.” 30The man
answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he
opened my eyes. 31We know that God does not listen to sinners. He
listens to the godly person who does his will. 32Nobody has ever
heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. 33If this man were
not from God, he could do nothing.” 34To this they replied, “You
were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out.
John 9:28-34
So the Pharisees turn on the Blind Man; too stubborn to believe his
testimony they excommunicate him for their lack of understanding. A
similar phenomenon occurs in modern times when we witness to the work Jesus has
done in us and people remain skeptical, condescending, suspicious of our story,
searching for other possibilities, reasons and explanations’ for the change in
us. We accept this rejection thinking the person is ignorant, lacks faith, or
is spiritually blind. Sadly, the more religious a person is (i.e. the
Pharisees) the more stubborn they can be when things do not fit into what they
have been taught or want to believe. Sometimes they may even turn angry as the
Pharisees did; because their skepticism and stubbornness blind them to the
truth.
Show them Grace in Jesus name ...
Ephesians
1:17
(RLB250517)
Disclaimer: This commentary is written by Randall L. Broad. It is in no way affiliated with or represents any denomination, university, church, or pastor. Any errors or omissions are purely my responsibility.
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